QBengaluru: City Takes Steps to Tackle Air Pollution & More

1. Bengaluru to Lead by Example in Tackling Air Pollution Globally

Bengaluru will join London in leading a global partnership of 20 countries to tackle air pollution. On Tuesday, Bengaluru Mayor R Sampath Raj and London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced that the cities would lead the C40 Air Quality Network that will allow leaders of major cities to share ideas on improving the air quality. Ironically, the MoU was signed in Delhi where air pollution is a growing concern.

Bengaluru is the only Indian city on the list. “The city has been recognised as capable of leadership in this because of the initiatives for pedestrian-friendly streets (TenderSURE), cycling and initiatives to increase public transport,” said N Manjunath Prasad, Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Commissioner.

The city has struggled to contain its air quality as urbanisation and rapid vehicular growth has eaten into green space. Since 2010, particulate matter has gone up by over 57%.

2. Cabbie Records Selfie Video Before Suicide Over Loan Default

A cab driver in Bengaluru committed suicide after taking a video selfie alleging harassment by bank officials.(Photo: The Quint)

A 27-year-old cab driver committed suicide after taking a video selfie alleging harassment by bank officials, police said. Anil Kumar is believed to have hanged himself from a ceiling fan at his house at Benniganahalli, Baiyappanahalli, on Tuesday. His parents noticed his body around 8.30 pm. He was taken to Chinmaya Mission Hospital but it was too late.

In the video that Kumar made moments before his death, he asked his friends not to fall into the trap of bank loans or trust politicians. He then went on abusing and bashing bank officials who had harassed him.

Kumar's father Rajanna had taken a personal loan of Rs 5 lakh from the State Bank of Hyderabad five years ago and was repaying it in instalments. Meanwhile, Kumar attached his cab to a taxi-hailing firm and started repaying the loan. But in the past year, he defaulted on the loan repayment.

3. Registration Process of Karnataka SSLC Students Goes Digital

The Karnataka Secondary Education and Examination Board has switched to the digital mode of uploading student details.(Photo: The Quint)

Finally, the Karnataka Secondary Education and Examination Board (KSEEB) has switched from the manual process of uploading student details to digital mode.

With the SSLC exams set to commence in 2018, the state board schools across Karnataka are now uploading student information onto the student tracking system (STS). This has put an end to the age-old tradition of uploading data manually by scanning OMR sheets one after the other. However, the slow pace of the system has been troubling some schools.

Many complain that the details of only three or four students get uploaded after a wait of nearly 10-12 hours. This has prompted the department, which had rolled out the new system two weeks ago, to extend the deadline for schools to upload data from 10 to 20 December.

4. Sports Centre Student Alleges Sexual Harassment

A Class IX student from a government-run residential school in Bengaluru has alleged sexual harassment by her coach.(Photo: The Quint)

A Class IX student from a government-run residential school and sports centre on the outskirts of the city has alleged sexual harassment by her coach.

Acting on her complaint, the Chikkajala police have booked Manjunath, 52, under various sections of the POCSO Act, 2012. The Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports has transferred the coach to Dharwad, pending an inquiry. A woman coach has been posted in his stead.

The student has been studying in the school for the last two years now and is an athlete. A week ago, she lodged a complaint with Department of Youth Empowerment and Sports alleging that Manjunath misbehaved with her twice in school and once during a train journey to Visakhapatnam, where and other students were headed to attend a sports meet.

5. Museum Dept Seeks Relief From Govt to Restore Roerich Paintings

The department of museum has sought a 4G exemption under Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurement Act to expedite restoration of nearly 250 Svetoslav Roerich paintings languishing in a dank room for several years.

The Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Intach Chitrakala Parishath Art Conservation Centre (ICKPAC) to also restore and conserve the paintings at Venkatappa Art Gallery (VAG). The department is currently awaiting clearance from the Finance Department for the revised estimate for restoration. According to the earlier proposal, ICKPAC, a not-for-profit organisation, was to take up the project for Rs 65 lakh.

With the department even preparing an MoU to this effect, the project cost has been revised to Rs 1 crore. "We are forced to submit a revised estimate after the GST (implementation)," Commissioner for Archaeology, Museums and Heritage T Venkatesh said.

6. In 3 Days, 15 Cases of TB Found in and Around Bengaluru

Image used for representational purpose.(Photo: Reuters)

The health department seems to be on an alert over tuberculosis (TB). The department has detected over 2,500 cases of the infectious disease in 14 districts over the last few months. In its active case finding (ACF) survey through 20 districts, the third phase of which was launched three days ago, the department discovered more than 15 patients from in and around Bengaluru who tested positive for TB. The numbers rose to 218 in all the 20 districts.

Sources in the Health and Family Welfare department said this was the third phase of the survey, and the department was expecting to detect close to 3,000 TB cases in 20 days.

“During the first two phases in 14 districts since July, we found 2,500 TB patients, who were brought to hospitals and continuously treated with free medicines. We have been going door-to-door to screen people, especially the vulnerable populations,” said a senior officer from the department.